The Mother Who Lived
by AideeEight
Summary: Lily didn't die that night, but everyone, except the Order of the Phoenix, thinks she's dead. How does she reveal to her son, Harry, that she's still alive, while still being able to protect him?
1. Hermione's Cat

Okay, while surfing the net for Harry Potter future book rumors (I'm hopeless, I know), someone had posted their suspision Lily might be an animagus. So, I've concocted my own story on the subject!  
  
~*~  
  
Chapter One  
  
~*~  
  
It was Harry, Hermione, and Ron's sixth year at Hogwarts. Everyone had wondered with Voldemort on the prowl, whether or not they'd even have a school year.  
  
During their fifth year, Voldemort had gone on many Muggle killing sprees. However, he'd yet to harm a single Witch or Wizard to the ministries knowledge, and they'd been yet to catch him.  
  
Right before the students of Hogwarts took their final exams for the year, Voldemort's Muggle attacks stopped. No one had seen him since.  
  
Many suspect he's been planning something larger, an attack on the wizarding world. Other's pray something or someone defeated him. There will always be those who try and deny the truth.  
  
Wanting to protect the students of Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore felt it best for them to be under his watch. With the entire wizarding world now of edge and waiting for Voldemort's next strike, he also wanted to keep the public at bit at ease with the knowledge Hogwarts was still in operation.  
  
Much to everyone's relief, all of the students arrived safely for their sixth year of studies, and Voldemort had still yet to resurface.  
  
~*~  
  
It was a lazy Monday afternoon after classes. It was too hot to go outside, the strong summer sun made that impossible. Instead, students found refuge within the cool walls of the Hogwarts castle.  
  
"Hermione, put your book down and come play chess with us," Harry called over his shoulder. He and Ron were emmersed in a game of Wizard's chess.  
  
"But I haven't finished next monday's reading assignment," said Hermione, who still had her nose buried in her book.  
  
They were all in the Gryffindor common room. A few other students were lounging around. Some were playing games as well, other's, like Hermione, were reading or doing their homework.  
  
"You play winner then," said Harry, not looking up as he was deep in thought. Even though he undoubtably knew Ron would beat him, this was the closest he'd ever been to Ron.  
  
"Fine," Hermione relented, flipping another page in her book. As she did so, Crookshanks, her cat, jumped up into her lap and began rubbing its head on the corners of Hermione's book. "Not now Crookshanks, I need to read," she patted her pet on the head, then gently sat it down on the floor.  
  
Crookshanks tossed her a look with its big, bright green eyes, but left, walking across the room and stopping infront of Harry and Ron. If anyone in the room had been paying attention, they'd have noticed the cat seemed to be watching them intently play their game.  
  
~*~  
  
'I can't do this anymore,' she sighed to herself. She'd been resting, curled up in a ball at the foot of the bed. Everyone else in the castle had gone to dinner. 'I need to tell him, it's been sixteen years.'  
  
Standing up, she stretched her legs and back and jumped down off the bed. Walking out of the room, she continued out in the Gryffindor common room, then took a turn and headed up to the boy's dormitories, stopping at the 6th year boy's room.  
  
Sighing, she walked over to Harry's bed and jumped up on it. Walking across it, she stopped in the middle and curled up again. 'I need to tell him, but is it really safe?' she wondered to herself. There was so much at stake.  
  
'And what about Sirius? I know he understands why I can't tell Harry yet; he's been one of my biggest supporters,' a small frown crossed her face as she thought. 'I know I can protect him, but he needs me. It would mean so much to him if...if he knew he still had his mother.'  
  
"Crookshanks, what are you doing in here?" Ron had entered the 6th year boy's dormitory, having finished his dinner. "Shoo now and go back to Hermione's room before she discovers you're missing." The cat stood up off Harry's bed and shot Ron what he thought looked like a nasty glare. Slowly, as if to perturb him, it walked out of the room and down the stairs.  
  
"Ruddy cat," Ron sighed as Harry walked in through the door.  
  
"Was Hermione's cat in here again?" said Harry, walking over to his bed and inspecting it for cat hairs.  
  
"Ya, I dunno why it's always in our room," Ron shrugged.  
  
~*~  
  
FLASHBACK to the Night Harry's Parents Died  
  
  
  
'This is it,' Lily Potter thought to herself. 'He's outside and there's no turning back now. I have to make sure I'm there to protect my son.' Lily was leaning over Harry's crib. He was sleeping peacefully. A small tear trickled down her cheek. With one last look at her son, she pulled out her wand and tapped herself on the top of her head with it. She muttered a few words.  
  
There was a brief sparkle of green. A moment later, an exact duplicate of herself stepped from Lily's body. It walked over to Harry's crib, then turned and looked at Lily. It smiled at her and nodded.  
  
When he arrived, he wouldn't be able to tell it wasn't her. For the past few years, she and her husband James, along with the other members of the Order of the Phoenix, had been researching body duplication. The replica she was leaving with her son was a perfect clone of herself. Luckily, it was made to disappear within a month, so if anything went wrong, there wouldn't be two copies of her running around.  
  
Other than sounding like her and looking like her however, it was not truely alive but in spell.  
  
Lily walked over to the window and watched in horror as Voldemort walked up to the front door of her house. A moment later, she heard the loud bang of the front door flying open and James yelling.  
  
Reaching for her wand again, Lily whispered a few words and tapped herself atop the head with it again. A moment later, everything around her had grown immensley in size. Quickly, she scrambled under Harry's dresser and out of sight. The ground beneath her, she could see the feet of her double walk over to the crib and protectively grab Harry out of it.  
  
Within a minute, the door was burst open and there was Voldemort. He argued with her double then utimately demised of her. He then turned on Harry. Holding her breath, Lily waitied for the moment she knew would happen.  
  
With a roar, Voldemort shouted "Avada Kedrava" and aimed his wand at her son. It had all been planned out. She knew he would come to kill her and James. She knew he would turn to Harry. In preperation, she'd instilled within her double all of her love for her son. She also knew about the deeper powers of magic. It would be her love that would save the life of her son that night.  
  
There was a flash, a burst, of green light. Voldemort let out a horrid yell and disappeared. When it was safe, Lily walked out from under the dresser. Her double was lying motionless on the floor. Harry was crying.  
  
A moment later, the door to Harry's bedroom flew open again. This time, it was Sirius.  
  
"Lily?" he asked, looking at the cat in the middle of the room. His eyes were filled with fear, hoping the plan had worked and the body he saw on the floor was not really hers.  
  
The cat morphed into the human form of Lily Potter. Sirius breathed a sigh of relief and enveloped her in a hug. "I want to take Harry with me instead." He spoke after they pulled apart. "I know Dumbledore and the rest of the order will be against changing the plan, but I want to be there for my godson."  
  
Lily walked over and picked up Harry. She held her son gently as his tears subsided, feeling his mother near him.  
  
"I don't want him to go live with my sister and her wretched family, but I know Dumbledore will believe him safe there," she sighed, handing him gently to Sirius.  
  
"I'm still going to try, Lily," he gently accepted to boy from his mother.  
  
"I know," she sighed and took a step back.  
  
"This isn't it you know. It's not forever," he looked at his dear friend, tears glistening in her eyes. All she could do was offer a quivering smile.  
  
He looked at her with deeply saddened eyes, "James is already gone." He bowed his head, then looked up at her again. The tears were threatening to spill over as she gave one last look to her son. "Quickly change back and leave."  
  
She looked up at him with hesitation. She wasn't ready yet.  
  
"Go, go now!" yelled Sirius. "Hagrid will be he any minute to take Harry. Go!"  
  
Lily nodded and shifted back into her animagus form. Leaving her son behind that night was the hardest thing she'd ever had to do.  
  
  
  
~*~  
  
End of chapter one  
  
  
  
  
  
Sooooo......do you all like the plot idea? Please review so I can know if I should continue or not!!!!! 


	2. It's Time

**A/N: Thanks to all the people who replied and reminded me I needed to get another part out to you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**  
  
~*~  
  
The-Mother-Who-Lived 2/?  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
Knowing it would be too dangerous to monitor Harry while he was at the Dursley's, Lily had spent many years waiting in the nearby wizarding district, Diagon Alley. She'd chosen it because she could easily slip into the Muggle world to glimpse her son, and still receive necessary information in the wizarding world.  
  
It wasn't exactly pleasant, spending her life as a cat, roaming the streets, but at least she was able to keep her ears open for any mention of her son. The day he first set foot into the wizarding world still held strong in her mind. She wanted so badly to be there sharing it with him. Instead, all she could do was watch him with Hagrid as he prepared for a life he'd yet to know anything about.  
  
Since Harry had first started at Hogwarts, Lily'd made certain to know every detail she could find about him and his life. She'd done this by taking up residence at a pet store manned by an elderly witch. Many people, especially Hogwarts students looking for a pet, came into the shop. She'd been careful to make herself seem fairly unadoptable as to not be purchased by anyone. The old witch treated her quite well and she lived a comfortable life while gathering information from the store's customers.  
  
Then it happened, one day, he walked through the door. She could hardly believe her eyes. She was so thrilled, her son was there, and so close she could touch him. Before she could do think what to do, Ron produced the bane of her existence, Peter Pettigrew. She knew his animagus form instantaneously. Wild rage had overtaken her as she attempted to attack.  
  
After being shooed away, she'd fretted she'd lost her chance to leave with her son. That's when she noticed the girl. Hermione, one of her son's best friends, just happened to be looking for a pet. To her luck, the girl fancied her, especially considering her general dislike for Ron's pet rat.  
  
Leaving the pet store and traveling to Hogwarts was like nothing she'd ever hoped for. Here she could see her son daily, maybe ever get the chance to reveal herself to him someday.  
  
Unfortunately for Lily, after Peter's escape and Voldemort's rise, she knew revealing herself would only put her son in more danger. She longed for the day when Lord Voldemort was to be defeated, Sirius's name cleared, her son safe, and for when she herself could return to the life she wished for so dearly.  
  
~*~  
  
"I just don't see why you have to bring that stupid cat with us to see Snuffles!" Ron eyed Hermione. She had Crookshanks happily over her shoulder as she, Ron, and Harry made their way down a long, dark tunnel leading out of Hogwarts toward the city of Hogsmeade.  
  
"Just say Sirius you dimwit, there's no one besides us here," she rolled her eyes at their dark surrounding. Her voice echoed of the walls of the tunnel in a hollow tone.  
  
"But the cat..."  
  
"Ron, Crookshanks and Sirius are friends, remember? Who helped to find Peter when he was hiding with you," she said matter of factly as they continued down the tunnel.  
  
"Just because your stupid cat chased my.chased Peter, doesn't mean it's best friends with Sirius! Besides, that's what cats do! They eat small, furry creatures!" Ron had never quite gotten to like Crookshanks, even after it had been revealed that Peter was an animagus.  
  
"Would you two quit," Harry sighed, "There's the entrance to Honeyduke's cellar, now shut up so I can get us in."  
  
Ron and Hermione sighed; yet quit their bickering and followed Harry.  
  
After quietly slipping on Harry's invisibility cloak, the trio made their way to the outcropping outside town where Sirius currently resided.  
  
Entering a dark cave and pulling off the cloak, they were greeted by a large, black dog. The dog quickly shifted into human form upon seeing them, and rushed over to embrace Harry.  
  
Harry, never having known his father, had grown extremely close to Sirius and considered him to be the next best thing.  
  
"How's everything at school?" he immediately questioned.  
  
"Fine," Harry replied.  
  
"I haven't heard anything either," he hinted about Voldemort, "but I'm always listening."  
  
"We brought you some mince meat pies from the kitchen," Ron interjected producing and basket containing the pies.  
  
Sirius thanked him and took the parcel. After putting it away, the looked back up to see Hermione and Crookshanks.  
  
A strange look the three could not place swept across his face, "You brought her."  
  
"Crookshanks is a boy," Hermione said flatly, releasing her cat to the ground. It had been squirming to be released since they'd entered the cave.  
  
"Right, of course," he said and the cat quickly moved over to Sirius and jumped into his lap, taking a dainty seat on his knee. He looked at the cat silently for a moment then turned back to the trio.  
  
"I...I um, I left some firewood down by the edge of the forest. Would it be asking too much for you three to bring it up to me? It's been getting rather cold at night recently," he said a bit shakily.  
  
The three didn't seem to notice and agreed, leaving almost immediately to help in any way they could. None of the wanted Sirius leaving the cave in his human form and suffer the risk of being spotted.  
  
As soon as they did, the cat hopped from Sirius knee, to the cold dirt floor of the cave. Moments later in its place stood a lovely adult woman.  
  
"It's been too long," Sirius's eyes watered as he pulled Lily into a tight embrace.  
  
"I know," she held him tightly back.  
  
"Two years now?" he said with a heavy note, as they pulled apart.  
  
"Nearly. At any mention of your name, I've tried to hint. Finally, Hermione decided to bring me along," she sighed, stepping back and rubbing her arms. With a now lack of fur, she was suddenly colder than she'd been before.  
  
"How's Harry?" he asked immediately.  
  
"He's doing fine. His grades are up, he's a prefect now you know," she beamed. "He's well liked." She faltered.  
  
"I know. I'm worried too. It's frightens me too," he put a gentle hand on her shoulder.  
  
"I know Harry can take care of himself, but the fact that V...Voldemort's," she choked out the name, "been lying dormant for so long.It really frightens me what he may be planning, Sirius..."  
  
"Don't ever forget that your son is strong. He's beaten Voldemort three times to date, I have no doubt in my mind the boy can hold his own," Sirius attempted to comfort Lily, though he knew words would never be even to ease her angst.  
  
"It's a mother's prerogative to worry," she lowered her gaze to the floor.  
  
"We'll find Voldemort before he has the chance to do anymore harm. You know every member of the order is working on it right now," he smiled, watching her with kind eyes as she let her gaze shift back up to meet his while he spoke.  
  
"I wish I could do more," said Lily. She let herself give in to another small shiver.  
  
"You're doing all that you can," Sirius sighed. "Everything you've done since Harry was born was solely for him. Sometimes, I think you do too much."  
  
"I want him to see me," she spoke suddenly and without warning. Her expression changed to that of a very serious nature.  
  
"Lily.you know what I think about this," Sirius had already talked her out of the idea on multiple occasions.  
  
"What if when the time comes, he won't forgive me from keeping this from him for so many year?" The hint of fear in her voice was unmistakable.  
  
"Harry's not like that," he reassured her.  
  
"Still, he deserves his mother! My being alive will not put anymore of a threat on him than is already poised. And just because I want to return doesn't mean I'll put myself in any more danger than the rest of the Order is in. I can't stand hiding anymore when all of you are still out there, fighting!" Lily threw up her hands in exasperation as she paced around the cave.  
  
"All right, I'm not going to stop you this time," said Sirius, very calmly.  
  
"What?" Lily stopped in her tracks. She'd at least expected him to attempt putting up a fight.  
  
"You're right, the boy deserves his family," he offered her a heartfelt smile.  
  
"I.are you sure?" she was still surprised he wasn't fighting her on this anymore.  
  
"Are you suddenly unsure?" laughed Sirius.  
  
"I.No, no I'm not," she spoke slowly, mainly to herself, as she absorbed what she was saying.  
  
"Then all I can suggest is that you wait until you and Harry can be alone to do it. He'll have a lot of questions for you," Sirius walked over to her and put a supportive hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Thank you," she smiled, pulling her dear friend into a hug. As she pulled away, her eyes lit up. "Do you realize what this mean?!"  
  
"That I do," he smiled heartily.  
  
"If I'm not dead, you cannot be charged for my murder any longer. I'll send Dumbledore for you immediately. I've been getting updates from him as frequently as I could escape the Gryffindor common room unseen. That will be two more of us who can fully join the ranks to help the Order's crusade. We can do this!" her smile was brighter than he's seen in years.  
  
"I." Sirius cut short as some footsteps were heard near the entrance. He glanced at the doorway to see Harry, Hermione, and Ron enter the cave. When to turned back, Lily was gone. Instead, Crookshanks sat looking also toward the trio in the doorway.  
  
"Were you talking to someone?" Harry inquired, dropping his arm load of wood near the entryway. "We thought heard voices."  
  
Sirius panicked for a moment, but upon looking at the three again, and seeing their still innocent expressions, he realized they didn't think much of it.  
  
"Not unless you count Hermione's cat here," he smiled, bending down and giving Crookshanks a soft pet to the head.  
  
"Now, why don't the four of us sit down and play a game of team wizard's chess?" Sirius smiled as the three nodded in assent.  
  
~*~  
  
"So, I'll see you at dinner?" Harry called to his friends as he climbed the stairs up the to him room.  
  
"Of course," Hermione called, stepping through the portrait hole, her arms full of books. She was heading off to the library to study.  
  
"Ya.uh huh," Ron barely mumbled in acknowledgement. He was deep into another game of wizard's chess, this time with Dean Thomas, their fellow Gryffindor.  
  
The three had returned about an hour prior from a nice visit with Sirius. It always put Harry in a better mood, having spent time with his godfather.  
  
"All right, see you then," he called as he opened the door to the room he shared with Ron, Neville, Dean, and Seamus. He was the only one there at the time. All he wanted to do was lie down and take a quick nap before they had dinner in two hours. It had been a busy week, and with class again he next day, he'd yet to enjoy and rest.  
  
He'd barely slipped his shoes off and flopped down on his comforter when he heard the door to his room creak open and shut.  
  
"Ron is that." he sat up to see who'd entered, "Oh, it's you." He frowned as Hermione's cat stopped dead center in the room. It flipped its tail and tipped its head in curiosity as it watched Harry. "What are you doing here Crookshanks? Shoo now. Go back to the girl's room."  
  
The cat simply stared back at Harry unflinchingly.  
  
"I said." but Harry cut short as right before his eyes, the cat shifted into the form of a human.  
  
  
  
END OF PART TWO...sorry it took so, long, I've been really busy with classes! It will be a much sooner turnover for the next part, I promise!  
  
Please R/R! It's all you people who remind me I need to get this done!! 


	3. Meetings

((SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG AND THAT THIS IS SO SHORT. I DON'T HAVE VERY MUCH TIME TO WORK ON IT, BUT I FIGURED I OWED YOU ALL ATLEAST A SHORT UPDATE))  
  
"Harry? Harry, are you okay?" A voice that seemed to be miles away was slowly creeping into Harry Potter's ears. He blinked a couple times as a very blurry face slowly came into focus. "Harry?" He groaned, sitting up and holding his head. Blinking again, he saw his best friend Ron Weasley hunched down next to him, a concerned and on his shoulder.  
  
"Ron? What happened?" said Harry trying to stand, but stumbled and fell back into a seated position.  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Ron, jumping to grab his arm and help him stabilize. "Just stay there."  
  
"What happened to me?" repeated Harry, taking some deep breaths and trying to relax and the spinning room began to come to a stop.  
  
"Hell if I know. I just walked in and found you passed out on the floor. It . . .It's not your scar again . . .is it?" said Ron, apparent apprehension in his voice. He knew with Voldemort lying low, it was just a matter of time before something happened; and Harry's scar had always seemed to be an indicator in the past.  
  
"No, my scar is fine. You say you found me just lying here? That's strange, I don't know what could have caused me to faint at all," said Harry. His breathing began to slow as everything finally became clear around him.  
  
"You don't remember a thing?" said Ron; still hovering over his friend, not ready to let him up yet.  
  
"No, I don't. But it's not like it's the first time," said Harry as he sighed and stood up. Ron glared at him as he did so, obviously not approving of the action.  
  
"Do you think you should go see Madam Pomfrey?" said Ron as he sighed and stood up.  
  
"I'll be fine. I just need to get out of here. You up for some chess?" said Harry as he walked toward the door.  
  
"If you promise to stay put and relax for awhile, then I'm in," said Ron, following Harry out of the room and the stairway to the Gryffindor common room.  
  
As they left, a pair of green eyes watched from underneath Harry's bed. Once they'd disappeared, Lily, in her Animagus form, crept out from the bed and slowly made her way down the stairs. She stopped to look at Harry who was playing chess with Ron for a moment before heading to the stairs to the girl's dormitory.  
  
Eventually, she slipped into Hermione's bedroom and hopped up on her bed unnoticed by anyone. The day had not gone as planned. As soon as she'd shifted back into her human form, Harry fainted dead to the floor after barely giving her a glance. She'd heard his conversation with Ron and realized he didn't remember a thing. He's fainted from shock and she was now even further away than she was before from telling him the truth. With a sigh of frustration, Lily let slumber take her. After such an ordeal, she could use a rest.  
  
~*~  
  
Lily looked around cautiously to make sure no one was in the Gryffindor common room as she headed toward the door. Since the students were in classes, she knew she wouldn't have much difficulty sneaking out of Gryffindor, through the halls, and onto the grounds without being seen.  
  
Luckily for her, no one stopped her on her way. Slinking behind bushes and trees, Lily hurried across the ground toward the Whomping Willow. As she neared it, she stopped and glanced around. Two bright eyes glowed at her from behind some bushes off to her right. Lily sighed and sauntered over now that she had found what she was looking for.  
  
From behind the bush, a large black dog stepped out to greet her. They looked at each other for a moment before the dog turned and began leading Lily through the wood to a more secure location. Once they were far enough away, the dog seemed to nod and both the dog and the cat morphed into two adult humans.  
  
"Did you tell him?" said Sirius taking a step toward Lily and placing a hand on the shoulder of his dear old friend.  
  
"I had him alone, things were going well," said Lily, turning away from Sirius and casting her gaze toward the ground, "I began to transform, and he fainted." There was a slight quivering in her voice. "By the time he woke up, Ron had arrived. I watched from under Harry's bed. He didn't remember a thing."  
  
"Oh Lily," said Sirius stepping over and enveloping her in a hug as she began to softly cry. "I know you don't want to hear this, but even Dumbledore agrees with me that it's not time yet. Harry will learn soon enough."  
  
"I don't want to spend another day without my son. Do you understand the pain I go through on a daily basis? What I've gone through day and day for years upon end now? No mother should have to watch her child grow up and not be able to be there for him and protect him," Lily leaned away from Sirius and wiped her tears of frustration from her eyes.  
  
"Why don't we go talk with Dumbledore?" said Sirius taking a step away and eyeing his friend to judge her reaction.  
  
"What?" said Lily, a look of shock on her face.  
  
"I know how badly you want to tell Harry. If we go and talk with him, he might be able to give us some answers about when you can tell Harry," said Sirius, offering her a soft smile which almost seemed foreign on his thin face.  
  
"You're a good friend. I think talking to Dumbledore might help my situation a bit," she took a step back. Both looked at each other and nodded before changing into their Animagus forms and heading back to the castle.  
  
~*~  
  
Dumbledore was sitting at his desk reading over some papers when two very unlikely visitors walked through his door. That is, for any normal witch or wizard, Muggle especially for that matter, unusual. For Dumbledore however, nothing was ever out of the ordinary. He smiled at the large black dog and small cat, dwarfed by the dog, as they stood in front of his desk. Delicately, he removed his reading glasses before rubbing the bridge of his nose. Replacing his glasses, he grabbed his wand and muttered a locking charm on his door that only he could remove.  
  
As soon as the door was secured, the animals in front of him changed into Sirius Black and Lily Potter. Dumbledore smiled and rose from his chair. Walking around his desk, he took the woman in his arms. "Lily, it has been quite some time since you've been to visit me. Sirius," he nodded at the man to her right.  
  
"Professor.. " she began.  
  
"Albus please. We are all member of the Order here and such a thing put as us equals," he smiled kindly at her.  
  
"Albus," said Lily with slight hesitation, "I refuse to wait any longer to reveal to Harry that I'm still alive. He needs a mother! I cannot in good conscious let him go another day without knowing." Lily was allowing herself to get worked up.  
  
"Alright then, please have a seat, both of you," he directed with an extended palm before making his way back to the chair behind his desk. "If you're allow, I will begin to explain to you the reason we still have you hiding your identity from Harry."  
  
Both nodded and quietly took seats.  
  
"As I was saying, it is still imperative for the time being that you don't reveal yourself to Harry." Lily moved to speak, but Sirius put a hand on her shoulder. She sighed and relaxed back into her chair, letting Professor Dumbledore continue.  
  
"I can tell you for certain, that this Halloween, on the 15th anniversary of Voldemort's attack on your home, you are more than welcome to tell Harry anything you wish. I would even tell him myself if you'd prefer. But I must stress the importance of you waiting the next month and a half before taking any action."  
  
Lily nodded even though she held a small look of dismay displayed in her tight lips and slightly narrowed eyes.  
  
"I plan seeing both of you in my office that morning for the next meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. We will be discussing some very important issues and launching our main plan in the fight against Voldemort. I will have various members returning to make reports to me that night. If all goes well, we will be able to be fully prepared before Voldemort has any chance to launch an attack." With that, Dumbledore leaned back in his chair having obviously finished. It wasn't even for Lily however. But, especially with the look Sirius was giving her, she chose to remain silent.  
  
"Thank you P. Albus," said Lily as Sirius led her to the office door with a hand on the small of her back. Sirius gave a small smile to the elderly man before both shifted back into their Animagus forms and left.  
  
Just as the door closed behind them, a head popped into Professor Dumbledore's fireplace. "Albus?! Are you there?" A male voice drew his attention to the fire. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows in surprise.  
  
"Yes, just a moment," he replied, rising from his chair and making his way to the fireplace. Kneeling down, he came face to face with a mid- aged, dark haired man. "This is a surprise. I wasn't expecting a report from you for at least another two weeks," said Dumbledore in a very calm tone giving no note to his claimed surprise.  
  
"I have some important news that couldn't wait," said the man in the fire. "As you know, I've had been tailing Peter since he last left Hogwarts. After his brief stay with Voldemort, which I already spoke with you about, he left to Australia. I've been following him since then and for the past two months; he's remained there leading a small meeting among some very dark wizards, all whom are not presently death eaters. They've been discussing and alliance and a date.. " his voice trailed off.  
  
"I understand. Thank you for this information. I will alert the others as I see fit, and announce it to everyone at the meeting which had been already been schedule. But in light of this new information, I'm stepping up the date to October 20th. I trust you'll be back with us by then? We're going to need you if what Pettigrew has been dealing with is truth."  
  
"Of course," replied the very weary voice before popping out of view.  
  
Dumbledore sighed as he hoisted his tired, old body off the floor and back to his desk. He sighed as he took out a stack of parchments from a desk drawer and began addressing them to members of the Order to inform them of the urgent change in meeting date. 


End file.
